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"Donald R. Puddy, 67, whose 31-year career with NASA spanned the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs, died Nov. 22 in Houston following a lengthy illness. Puddy joined NASA's Johnson Space Center in 1964 and spent 22 years as a key leader of human space flights in the Mission Control Center."

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"A mosaic of nine processed images recently acquired during Cassini's first very close flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Oct. 26, 2004, constitutes the most detailed full-disc view of the mysterious moon. The view is centered on 15 degrees south latitude, and 156 degrees west longitude. Brightness variations across the surface and bright clouds near the south pole are easily seen."

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"Whereas Gordon Cooper was the first man to go into space for a second time;"

Editor's note: A NASA Watch reader just reminded me "I thought Gus Grissom was the first man to go into space twice: Liberty Bell 7 and Gemini 3." Perhaps the resolution should have said "Whereas Gordon Cooper was the first man to go into orbit for a second time."

"The closing narration states Gordon Cooper was "the last American ever to go into space alone''. While true when the film was made, Mike Melvill in June and September 2004 and Brian Bimmie in October 2004 went into space alone in Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne. Bimmie's flight coincidentally was the day Gordon Cooper died."

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"The meeting will be open to the public up to the seating capacity of the room. The agenda for the meeting is as follows: Transforming the NASA Advisory Council Structure."

Editor's note: at the last NAC meeting in September (which was closed to the public) the topic of revising the format of the NAC was discussed. Among the ideas presented by NASA was reformatting the NAC along the lines of a suggestion made by the Aldridge Commission that NASA look to the Defense Science Board and the role it serves in focusing advice for the DoD.

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Editor's note: Reliable sources reveal that the National Space Society (NSS) has worked out an arrangement where the publishing of its magazine "Ad Astra" will now be handled by space.com. That transition will happen over the next month or two. Discussions have also been held with various parties with regard to the possible merger of NSS and The Space Foundation.

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Frances Kerry, Reuters Bureau Chief, Miami: "I am extremely sad to say that Broward "Brad" Liston, a talented and much-admired central Florida and Cape Canaveral freelance reporter for Reuters for nearly a decade, died suddenly on Tuesday after being taken ill with pneumonia. He was 47."

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Editor's note: I was not at the Centennial Challenges event at NASA HQ this morning - but was listening to the webcast. The person referring to "NASA Watch" is not from "NASA Watch". Just remember: I am easy to identify at such events: I dress like a slob and don't wear a tie. Also - I do not think NASA is ignoring minorities - contrary to the bizzare question my imposter asked. Indeed, quite the contrary:

"NASA will participate in the National Society of Black Engineer's (NSBE) Region V Fall Regional Conference Nov. 19-21 at the Hilton Americas Hotel, Houston, to showcase the engineering contributions that make space exploration a reality."

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"The charges against Gregory L. Hansen and Kenneth E. McDonald stemmed from a case in which they allegedly created a fake company and submitted phony purchase orders on construction work at KSC through their employer, Olson Electric Co. of Daytona Beach. U.S. Department of Justice anti-trust attorney Richard Reed has told a judge in Atlanta that the men are providing "substantial assistance" that should lead to the prosecution of others involved in construction contract fraud at the center."

Editor's note:12 November 2004:Channel 6 WKMG will be airing a story tonight at 11:00 pm EST regarding "bid-rigging" at KSC. According to WKMG "A major scheme at the Kennedy Space Center is uncovered. The Problem Solvers learn indictments are on the way from a federal investigation into a bid-rigging plan."

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"However, just after the integration, we faced a series of malfunctions and troubles including the failure of H-IIA launch vehicle No.6, for which I felt personal responsibility. I have, therefore, been working with the executives and employees as a team for the purpose of resuming launches and restoring public trust."

SUMMARY: This notice announces the release of the Appendix 3 to the Draft Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System and extension of the public comment period by the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations (IWGEO). This draft plan was prepared to address the effective use of Earth observation systems to benefit humankind, and Appendix 3 provides a summary of the state of the current observation systems addressed in the plan.

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"The launch of NASA's DART spacecraft aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL scheduled for Tuesday is postponed. A review of projected loads data, or the G-forces the payload experiences upon ignition of the Pegasus second stage, is being re-evaluated to ensure mission success."

Editor's note: I had to read this more than once to make sure I got it right. Isn't this the sort of analysis that should have been done months - perhaps years ago - not days before a launch - one that has already been delayed? Someone sure dropped the ball on this one. Its nice to see that a potential issue was caught in time - but I have to wonder what would have happened if the launch had gone ahead in October. Was this information available at that time?

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"There is also a more tangible piece of New York on Mars. On each rover, a curved piece of metal the size of a credit card and adorned with the American flag was cut out of debris from the World Trade Center....Until now, that knowledge has remained within the mission team. "It was intended to be a quiet tribute," Mr. Gorevan said. "Enough time has passed. We want the families to know."

Click on image to enlarge

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"President Bush will not ask his appointees for the mass resignation letters that sometimes have been requested with a change of term but instead wants the aides to keep doing their jobs unless they are told otherwise, White House officials said yesterday."

"Fulfilling President George W. Bush's ambitious plan to return humans to the Moon will create down-to-earth benefits, rocketing advances in computer science and other technologies, the chief of NASA said."

"A leading contender for the Pentagon chief's job would be National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice ... Other candidates include Sean O'Keefe, head of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, and Navy Secretary Gordon England."

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Editor's note: Opportunity is curently moving over to the other side of Endurance crater toward a series of slopping rock formations. Browsing though the latest images I found this one here. Some things immediately caught my eye.

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"China's second manned space flight will be conducted by two astronauts over five days in 2005. Unlike Shenzhou-V, which flew with a single astronaut for 21 and half hours a little more than a year ago, the next flight will see two astronauts fly in space for five days. Their capsule is designed to be capable of orbiting for a whole week, the spokesperson said."For the first time, astronauts will enter and live in the orbital module of the spacecraft to do scientific experiments," said a statement from CAST, the major manufacturer of the manned spacecraft and its launch vehicle."

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Editor's note: I was wandering through Cassini's raw image collection last night and came across this peculiar image. According to the official description this image was "taken on October 29, 2004. The camera was pointing toward Saturn's rings at approximately 790,933 kilometers away." Just inside the ring there appears to be a small moon passing by. If you look at the enlarged version of this image you can see what appears to be disturbances in the ring which seem to be a direct result of the moon (Prometheus?) passing nearby. I have sent a request. Perhaps someone at JPL will tell us what we are looking at.

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"The U.S. Air Force quietly has put into service a new weapon designed to jam enemy satellite communications, a significant step toward U.S. control of space. The so-called Counter Communications System was declared operational late last month at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Air Force Space Command said Friday in e-mailed replies to questions from Reuters."

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